Moorthy
Moorthy is a young Brahmin, described as a "noble cow, quiet, generous, serene, deferent, and brahmanic" (5), who has returned to his village of Kanthapura. He is heavily inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's nationalist movement to liberate India. He is showered with love and respect by the people of Kanthapura, who decide to follow him unflinchingly. In the novel, he is referred to as the "small mountain," while Mahatma Gandhi is the "big mountain." He manages to establish the Congress Party in adherence to Gandhian values in Kanthapura. He adheres to truth, non-violence, and civil disobedience, refusing to protest his own incarceration. At the end of the novel, out of prison now, he is looking to help Gandhi and Jawarhal work toward "swaraj" (self-rule).
Bhatta
Bhatta is a wealthy landowner in Kanthapura. He exploits the villagers and has nothing to do with the Gandhian philosophy. He goes on to oppose Moorthy in establishing the Congress Party, and is an indirect agent of the British government. During the uprising, the people burn his house down.
Patel Range Gowda
Officially, Patel Range Gowda is the Primary Executive Officer of Kanthapura village. However, he acts as the mayor of the entire village. He has a strong and formidable presence, and no decision can reach its conclusion without Range Gowda's approval. He is often referred to as the "tiger" of the village. He uses his social authority in order to assist Moorthy, and is eventually relieved of his patelship.
Rangamma
Rangamma is a "deferent, soft-voiced, gentle-gestured" (30) but strong woman who can read and write. She is a childless widow, but is well respected because of her resolution and high aspirations. She rejects Bhatta's religious dictatorship in favor of Gandhian Moorthy. She educates and leads the women of Kanthapura to form a non-violent resistance group called "Sevis," and is eventually imprisoned.
Bade Khan
Bade Khan is a heavyset, bearded Muslim policeman who has recently arrived in Kanthapura. He finds lodging in Skeffington Coffee Estate. He is an agent of the British government and is hostile towards all forms of protests. At one point, he viciously beats Moorthy when he tries to meet the coffee estate workers.
Kamalamma
Kamalamma is the sister of Rangamma. She stands in stark contrast to the values exhibited by Rangamma. She rejects her sister's conversion to the Gandhian lifestyle. The only concern on her mind is to somehow remarry her widowed daughter Ratna.
Ratna
Ratna is the fifteen-year-old daughter of Kamalamma. However, she has more in common with her Aunt Rangamma. She, too, is inspired by the Gandhian philosophy. She is very iconoclastic and independent and does not care for traditional social propriety. She leads the Sevis after Rangamma's imprisonment, having attained a new gravitas and wisdom. At the end of the novel, after having spent some time in prison, she comes out to visit the people of Kanthapura and then heads to Bombay.
Narsamma
She is Moorthy's elderly mother, who loves her son very much but is extremely distressed to think about the trouble he is bringing to the village—especially excommunication. She eventually dies due to her distress.
Narrator
The narrator is an old widow with only sons, one of them being Seenu. We do not learn much about her as an individual, as she always speaks collectively.
Waterfall Venkamma
She is a spiteful, gossipy, and constantly aggrieved woman in the village.
Ramakrishnayya
He is the learned, elderly father of Rangamma. One evening, he trips and loses consciousness, then dies.
Jayaramacher
He is a Harikatha-man Moorthy brings to the village for the Ganesh-jayanthi. Instead of telling them about Rama or Krishna, he tells the villagers of Mahatma Gandhi. This causes a bit of trouble and he is not invited back.
Mr. Skeffington (Nephew)
The successor to control of the Skeffington Coffee Estate, he does not beat coolies like his uncle did, but takes Indian women for his own pleasures and punishes their husbands/fathers when they do not go easily.
Mr. Skeffington (Uncle)
The British owner and founder of the Estate, he is cruel to those who work for him.
Seenu
One of the narrator's sons, he becomes a Ghandi-man and works with Moorthy, teaching the Pariahs and helping with the Congress committee. He is arrested and is still in jail at the end of the novel.
Siddayya
A coolie at the Skeffington Coffee Estate, he has been there a long time and tries to let the new coolies know what they should expect here.
Rachanna
One of the most prominent Pariah men in the text, he is killed in the uprising.
Nanjama, Chinnamma, Seethama, Satamma, Ningamma, Vedamma
They are village women.
Vasudev
A Ghandi-man and comrade of Moorthy's, he helps organize the Pariahs at the Skeffington Estate.
Rangappa
He is the Temple brahmin, who is against the Gandhist movement in the village.
Seenappa
He is an advocate who loses his wife and who Bhatta sets up with Venkamma's daughter in order to win her loyalty against Moorthy and Gandhism.
Sankar
The secretary of the Karwar Congress committee, he tries to help Moorthy fight his charge, but agrees to help run the meetings in his stead. He has Rangamma come live and work with him. He is an ascetic widower who will not remarry because he loved his wife so much, but the people are generally fine with this because they respect him despite his idiosyncrasies.
Ranganna
He is a Brahmin who opens his private temple to the Pariahs. He is arrested when he gives a speech at the Congress criticizing the Swami and the British government.
Seetharamu
He is an advocate who lives in the city and will not remarry because he loved his wife so much. He provides the villagers with updates as to what is going on with Moorthy. At one point, he is thrown in prison himself, and has horrible stories to tell of its conditions.
Radhamma
She is a village woman who gives birth during the uprising.
Puttamma
She is a village woman who is raped during the uprising.
